???

I've found a model of a 1910 fire engine but its in 1/24 scale. I model in 1/22.5 and am wondering whether the two scales will mix OK? Its the same as HO to OO, and 1/148 to 1/160 .  Anybody mixed scales on their layout and does it look OK?

 

Cheers

 

mikey

It really depends upon whether you have anything else on the layout to compare it to. In the past i mixed scales with road vehicles by "grading" them; this meant that the smallest (around 1/78) were placed towards the rear of the layout or scene and the largest (around 1/71) were at the front. No two vehicles were placed in any sort of proximity to each other if there was more than one unit of scale difference, ie, I could place a 1/74 car next to a 1/75 or 1/73 vehicle but not near a 1/76 or 1/72 item.

Trucks and buses can be placed next to cars of slightly different scales with impunity as there is no way of directly comparing the scales, at least to the casual observer.

My gut feeling is that your 1/24 vehicle will look fine with 1/22.5 trains or cars, or against other lorries or buses if there is a reasonable distance between them. I demonstrated this last point in a talk i gave to a club audience a few years ago, using two Corgi MCW Metrobuses, one a standard OOC 1/76 scale one, the other a much older 1/72 scale bus that I had repainted and detailed well before the OOC ones came along; placed side by side the difference in scales was obvious but placed around 1 foot apart the audience could not pick it, even from only a few feet away (normal layout viewing distances).

Thanks Jeff, brilliant info!

 

mikey

I have the same problem with stuff I am getting together for the micro mine layout .

Some of the stock is 1/32 but there is little available and I am having to use 1/35 and 1/43 for some things but I am using the principal if it looks right then that will do for me - after all there is no such thing as a standard size for everything.

That's the best we can do - make it look right.

Even the new host of vehicles purporting to be 00 size are very varied.

Mikey, HO scale diecast utes and cars are costing me about A$20.00.  I picked up some S scale utes for A$4.00 each and next to the HO utes, they look ridiculous.  But putting them away by themselves (under trees and parked near large buildings - like the roundhouse), I'm getting away with them.

It's also a bit of perspective modelling. Large things in the foreground, smaller objects in the background. I have seen a layout (OO scale) that had TT then N scale buildings and cars used progressively towards the back of the layout - very effective it was, too.

I like to go by the adage "If it looks right, it is right."

Could you stand another tale? (If the answer is "No," then don't read any further!) A friend in Sydney built himself a coaling stage, with dimensions worked out from photographs of the real thing. He placed it on his (large!) layout and found that it towered over everything else, completely dominating the scene … too much so. He subsequently shortened it and found that it looked much better and more in tune with the surroundings.

[user=321]SRman[/user] wrote:

It's also a bit of perspective modelling. Large things in the foreground, smaller objects in the background. I have seen a layout (OO scale) that had TT then N scale buildings and cars used progressively towards the back of the layout - very effective it was, too.

I like to go by the adage "If it looks right, it is right."

Could you stand another tale? (If the answer is "No," then don't read any further!) A friend in Sydney built himself a coaling stage, with dimensions worked out from photographs of the real thing. He placed it on his (large!) layout and found that it towered over everything else, completely dominating the scene … too much so. He subsequently shortened it and found that it looked much better and more in tune with the surroundings.

Much the same with trees I think, in real life a big tree can be 70ft - 80ft tall but you rarely see model trees getting on for a foot high, do you?


Doug

Absolutely, Doug.

:doublethumb